The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) is pleased to welcome the 2021 TFAS Summer Law Fellows to Washington, D.C.
Selected from a competitive field of applicants, the 28 law students all hail from top law schools across the nation, including Duke University, University of Notre Dame, William and Mary, George Mason University and George Washington University.
These exceptional Fellows will spend nine weeks studying issues of constitutional interpretation, limited government and free enterprise through the immersive TFAS academic and professional experience. The Fellowship provides coursework from TFAS’s academic partners at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School, professional development seminars and networking events, as well as a law and public policy lecture series with leading constitutional scholars, judges and practicing attorneys.
Upon arrival of the 2021 TFAS Law Fellows to Washington, Fellows participated in a virtual welcome and orientation hearing from TFAS faculty and staff and alumni who provided insight into the impact of the program. This week, Fellows also attended their first Law & Policy Lecture by Anne Bradley, TFAS Academic Director and visited the Supreme Court.
This summer’s featured speakers include Randy Barnett of Georgetown Law, Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, and Allen Dickerson, commissioner of the Federal Elections Commission. In addition to seminars and lectures, Fellows take a course on the topic of “Constitutional Interpretation: The Debate Over Originalism” taught by Antonin Scalia Law Professor Jeremy Rabkin.
Fellows will also participate in top legal internships and clerkships across the city at the Institute for Free Speech, Institute for Justice, U.S. Federal Court of Claims, the Public Interest Legal Foundation and more.
TFAS has offered legal studies programming through a riveting nine-week academic and professional experience by providing networking events and career development sessions since 2007. Since 2019, the TFAS Law Fellowship has provided full scholarships to accepted individuals that cover tuition, housing and program expenses, funded in part by the generous support of the Sarah Scaife Foundation.
TFAS Law Program Director Colin Parks said the members of this year’s remarkable cohort have successful futures ahead of them.
“We are excited to welcome such an extraordinary group of law students to Washington this summer for the 2021 Law Fellowship,” Parks said. “This year’s Fellows represent some of the finest law schools in the country and are eager to join the fight to safeguard our liberties. I’m confident they’ll do TFAS proud in advancing the principles of limited government, constitutional originalism, and free enterprise.”
Learn more about this year’s impressive cohort below.
Meet the 2021 TFAS Law Fellows
Eric Abels
Law School: The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Hometown: Pflugerville, Texas
For his undergraduate studies, Eric Abels attended The University of Alabama where he graduated early with a degree in telecommunication and film and a minor in theatre. During these years, Eric had incredible opportunities to work with Alabama Athletics and ESPN as a camera operator and sideline reporter and joined various organizations from the annual student film festival to intramural sports. In the short span of time between undergraduate and law school, Eric transitioned to a management role in hospitality at Chick-fil-A. He has just completed his 1L year and while he is not a diehard Buckeye fan yet, he has gotten involved in various aspects of Moritz. Eric is an SBA Representative, Moritz Ambassador for admitted students, and has competed in moot court. He is passionate about serving others and learning peoples’ individual stories. He loves the Crimson Tide, coffee and anything active.
Christopher Barnewolt
Law School: George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia
Christopher Barnewolt studied history and international relations at the College of William and Mary. He went on to receive his Master of Arts in international security from Georgetown University, and he has lived in the Washington, D.C., area ever since. Christopher has been on service trips to Ecuador and Honduras, and he studied abroad at Charles University in Prague. He interned with Harvard University’s Belfer Center, Toffler Associates and the American Enterprise Institute. Christopher has also worked as a government account representative at Carahsoft Technology and as a legislative analyst and client relations manager at StateScape. He has just completed his 1L year at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, where he is a student representative with the local Federalist Society. He is interested in constitutional law, especially First Amendment issues, and he hopes to work in the field of free speech one day.
Grace Berner
Law School: Emory University School of Law
Hometown: Helena, Montana
Grace Berner is entering her second year at Emory University School of Law. Prior to law school, she attended Hillsdale College where she graduated with a degree in mathematics. Currently, Grace serves as the vice president of the Emory Law Federalist Society and as a board member on Emory’s Committee for Freedom of Expression. Her interests include politics, mixed martial arts and CrossFit.
Courtland Culver ’18
Law School: George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Hometown: Ocala, Florida
Courtland Culver ’18 received his Bachelor of Science in economics from Florida State University, during which time he was the membership chair for the FSU College Republicans, campus representative for the James Madison Institute, campus ambassador for the Foundation for Economic Education, and the outreach and community engagement coordinator for the DeVoe L. Moore Center. He also had the opportunity to study political philosophy and political economy at the University of Hong Kong as a part of the TFAS Asia program in 2018. Upon graduation, Courtland interned at the Foundation for Economic Education. He then earned a Master of Science in applied economics from FSU. During this time, he served as treasurer for the Florida Federation of College Republicans. In his free time, Courtland enjoys playing the piano and watching FSU football.
Bradley Davis
Law School: Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Hometown: Dublin, Ohio
Bradley Davis just completed his 1L year. He is a member of the Federalist Society and helps federal inmates seek post-conviction relief through the Inmate Legal Assistance Project. Prior to law school, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science and government at Miami University, where he ran Division I Cross Country and Track. Bradley was a summer intern with Congressman Troy Balderson’s District Office in 2019, and he hopes to obtain a clerkship after graduating from law school.
Sydney Dominguez
Law School: George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Hometown: Warrenton, Virginia
Sydney Dominguez is a graduate of Christendom College, where she was the first woman to graduate from the college’s mathematics department. She just finished her second year of law school and served as the president of Scalia Law’s chapter of the Federalist Society as well as the events coordinator of the Thomas More Society. Sydney is currently serving as the senior research editor of the National Security Law Journal and as a member of both the Moot Court Board and the Trial Advocacy Board. A military brat, she recently moved for the fourteenth time and spent a year teaching at a military boarding school. She has served as an intern for Senator Marsha Blackburn and Judge Ryan T. Holte of the Federal Court of Claims.
Mitchell Emery
Law School: George Washington University Law School
Hometown: Flushing, Michigan
Mitchell Emery is a rising 2L at the George Washington University Law School, with a passion for public service, government policy and international law. He graduated summa cum laude from Valparaiso University in 2019, where he earned his bachelor’s in history with a minor in political science. While in undergrad, Mitchell was involved in the mock trial club and regularly volunteered on local service projects. More recently, he spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA in Flint, Michigan, at the Flint & Genesee Literacy Network. There he worked with local nonprofits and schools to develop education strategies and monitor their impact on the community. At law school, Mitchell is proud to have been involved in the launch of the GW Law Uyghur Human Rights Initiative and is excited to return in person this fall. In his downtime, he enjoys podcasts, hikes with friends and watching history documentaries.
Natalie Glitz
Law School: Michigan State University College of Law
Hometown: Hillsdale, Michigan
Natalie Glitz just completed her first year of law school at Michigan State University College of Law. There, she is a member of the Michigan Leadership Initiative. Natalie holds a double Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and fine art from Hillsdale College. While at Hillsdale, she participated in many organizations, such as Pi Beta Phi Fraternity, various academic honor societies, choirs, and volunteer organizations, such as the Humane Society, through which she and her fiancé adopted their dog, Ruby. Natalie’s volunteer humanitarian work with the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, as well as with the Bannakaroli Brothers, inspired her decision to go to law school, which she sees as the best avenue for giving back to her community. Currently, Natalie’s focus at MSU will be on criminal law and intellectual property. She intends to pursue a career as a prosecutor after graduation and hopes to work as a federal judge one day.
Haley Gluhanich
Law School: Michigan State University College of Law
Hometown: Milford, Connecticut
Haley Gluhanich, who attended Gettysburg College for her undergraduate studies, studied abroad in Barcelona one summer to gain a comparative understanding of the Constitution. She attends Michigan State University College of Law and spent her 2L year as the fundraising chair for the Student Bar Association. She participated in the First Amendment Clinic, where she prepared Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for different school districts and taught high school classes on student speech at school and on social media, copyright and fair use, defamation, and privacy. This led her to work as a co-curator of content for the McLellan Online Free Speech Library. There she researches and writes Q&As based on student speech submissions. Haley has worked at a Connecticut probate court, a Connecticut adult probation department, and a Michigan legal aid organization that specializes in family law, landlord-tenant law, consumer law, and benefits and unemployment law.
Kelly Heilman
Law School: Notre Dame Law School
Hometown: South Bend, Indiana
Kelly Heilman is a rising 2L focusing on intellectual property, primarily First Amendment protection on the Internet. Kelly is a representative for Notre Dame’s Federalist Society, St. Thomas More Society and Legal Voices for Children. She joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, where she worked with victims of domestic violence and ran a tax clinic for low-income families at the U.S.-Mexico border. There, she discovered her calling to combine free speech, intellectual property rights and social justice. Kelly was an academic fellow with the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and the Witherspoon Institute at Princeton University. During her undergraduate studies, she founded her campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom and spent two semesters studying philosophy at Georgetown University and the University of New South Wales.
Timothy Jambor
Law School: George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Hometown: Milford, Connecticut
Tim Jambor just completed his 1L year after graduating from Wesleyan University with Bachelor of Arts degrees in government and Russian language and literature, where he won the University’s Scott Prize for Excellence in Russian. At Wesleyan University, Tim served as captain of the men’s rugby team and assisted the foreign language conference with the annual “Power of Language” symposium. He also spent a year with AmeriCorps NCCC, a national and community service organization, in the Pacific Region, where he partnered with the Bureau of Land Management. As a 1L at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, he participated in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Society’s Negotiation Competition and became a member of the Federalist Society.
Timothy Kilcullen
Law School: George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia
Timothy Kilcullen just finished his first year of law school. Prior to law school, Timothy worked as a research assistant at the lobby compliance firm State & Federal Communications. He also has experience in campaign work and is an alumnus of the Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program. In college, he was an active member of College Republicans and Turning Point USA. Timothy has lived in 10 different states, but plans to stay in Northern Virginia after graduation.
Michael Klein
Law School: George Washington University School of Law
Hometown: East Northport, New York
Michael Klein recently completed his 1L year at the George Washington University School of Law. A 2020 graduate of Catholic University, he majored in politics and Asian studies. At Catholic University he chaired both the Chinese Club and the College Republicans. During his undergraduate studies, Michael interned at the Heritage Foundation, Gingrich 360 and Baron Public Affairs, in addition to the Hill. He also led a student trip to Israel in 2019 with Passages. Michael is Mexican-American and speaks several languages, which he hopes to use in future international trade practice. In his free time, he golfs and skis, and he is an endurance athlete. In quarantine he enjoyed reading and learned to DJ. Michael is an Eagle Scout.
McCarley Maddock
Law School: Duke University School of Law
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
McCarley Maddock just completed her 1L year. She majored in history and minored in constitutional studies at the University of Notre Dame for undergrad. She interned in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and she interned in the House of Commons during a semester abroad in London. At Duke Law, she was a 1L board member for Duke’s Federalist Society chapter and participated in the Innocence Project and the Health Care Planning Project. In her free time, McCarley enjoys running, reading and traveling.
Eric McLain
Law School: Washington and Lee University
Hometown: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Eric McLain has just completed his 1L year. As an undergraduate, he attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he majored in political science and history and graduated with summa cum laude honors. Eric worked two summers as an intern for Congressman Steve Womack, one of which occurred in the Congressman’s office in Washington, D.C. He also studied abroad in Granada, Spain, where he became fluent in Spanish and traveled to London and Morocco. He is currently involved in the Federalist Society, the Christian Legal Society, W&L Veteran’s Advocate, and the American Constitution Society on his campus.
Will Mercier
Law School: Villanova University School of Law
Hometown: Monroe, Connecticut
Will Mercier just completed his 1L year at the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. He received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Boston College in 2020 and minored in history. At Boston College, he was a captain and treasurer of the Boston College Mock Trial Team and a clerical assistant at a leading employment law firm. In the spring of 2019, Will had the opportunity to intern in the Constituent Services Office of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. In 2018, he interned at the corporate headquarters of Sturm, Ruger, & Company, in Southport, Connecticut. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, eating buffalo wings and watching the proceedings of the United States Senate on C-Span.
Anthony Papageorgiou
Law School: Rutgers School of Law – Camden
Hometown: Center Valley, Pennsylvania
Anthony Papageorgiou has just completed his first year of law school. Prior to attending law school, he was the youngest person in the world to obtain a terminal doctoral degree in criminal justice at age 22. While completing his doctorate, Anthony served as a graduate assistant and conducted criminological research that sought to make the current criminal justice system both more effective and efficient. He has also instructed undergraduate courses, advised congressional campaigns and worked as an investigator for a private security firm. Now entering his second year of law school, he has been elected president of the Federalist Society chapter at Rutgers. He plans to pursue a career in public policy and government.
Matthew Pheneger
Law School: Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Hometown: Lima, Ohio
Matthew Pheneger has just completed his 2L year, during which he took courses in areas such as counterterrorism law, foreign affairs law and constitutional law, and completed an original research project related to international law. Outside of the classroom, Matthew has continued in his capacity as a managing and technical editor for War Crimes Prosecution Watch, a newsletter published by the Public International Law and Policy Group in coordination with Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He also works as a matrix investigator for the Yemen Accountability Project, an organization that researches war crimes in the context of the Yemeni Civil War. Additionally, Matthew was recently nominated to study abroad during the fall of his 3L year at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His last internship was a research position with the Public International Law and Policy Group, for which he drafted two substantial chapters for “Power Shift,” a forthcoming book on the UN Security Council.
Can Sarihan ’17, ’18
Law School: William and Mary Law School
Hometown: Istanbul, Turkey
Can Sarihan ’17, ’18 recently completed his 1L year at the College of William and Mary Law School. He first came to the United States in the summer of 2017 for TFAS’s Academic Internship Programs. He completed the Journalism + Communications track. During his time in the program, he interned at the Voice of America for two months. Can has a bachelor’s degree in English. He is from from Istanbul, Turkey, and loves America.
Naomi Singer
Law School: Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Naomi Singer just completed her 1L year, the highlight of which was writing an article that was published in the Ohio Journal of Public Health. Before law school, she worked as the legislative assistant to the United Auto Workers International Union, where she drafted and edited legislative documents, position papers and communication with Congress. Naomi studied architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, where she worked with the government of the Mexican border city of Miguel Aleman to create housing strategies to accommodate for the increased immigration to the city. She also studied architectural engineering in London and worked as a research intern for the firm Arup in analyzing the effects of seismic movement on the towers under construction for the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona. Naomi loves studying languages, reading and adding to her ever-growing list of interests.
Frederick Smyth
Law School: University of San Diego School of Law
Hometown: San Diego, California
Having just completed his first year of law school, Fred Smyth is excited to launch into the next step of his legal career with the TFAS Summer Law Fellowship. He completed his undergraduate education at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was a member of the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi and earned a Bachelor of Arts in business ethics with a minor in philosophy. Fred has worked for the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. He is eager to learn from legal professionals and the other TFAS Law Fellows this summer.
Benjamin Sorg
Law School: University of Dayton School of Law
Hometown: Moraine, Ohio
Benjamin Sorg just completed his 1L year at the University of Dayton. He attended Miami University in Ohio for his undergraduate studies, where he was a member of the Army ROTC. He is now a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army on an educational delay in order to attend law school. His time at Miami University and with the ROTC involved trips to Romania where he interacted with the Romanian Air Force, and a trip to Hawaii to shadow and learn from an active Army officer. Benjamin enjoys exercise, music and baseball.
Sara Spears ’18
Law School: Stetson University School of Law
Hometown: Pensacola, Florida
Sara Spears ’18 just completed her 1L year at Stetson University and is a class representative for Stetson Law’s Federalist Society. Before attending law school, Spears worked for the law firm Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis, & Overholtz as a legal assistant, where she joined a litigation team dedicated to a nationwide mass tort against the 3M Company. She graduated from the University of West Florida in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in legal studies. As a student, Sara played NCAA Division II softball for the Argonauts and participated in two Division II Women’s College World Series. In 2018, Sara completed the TFAS Public Policy + Economics D.C. Summer Academic Internship Program as a Leadership Scholar and interned at the Federalist Society in Washington, D.C. She has also interned at the Escambia County Clerk’s Office and IMS ExpertServices. She published an article with Deputy Chief Judge David Langham in February of 2020 entitled “Parental Leave Continuance and Judicial Discretion.”
John Vatian
Law School: American University Washington College of Law
Hometown: Celebration, Florida
John Vatian just completed his 1L year and is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where he majored in legal studies and political science. He has a passion for the intersection of law and foreign policy, with a keen interest in finance and international trade, specifically in private equity, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets. John feels fortunate to be published in Forbes as a contributing author, the American University National Security Law Brief and the UCF Undergraduate Law Journal for his article focused on the legality of covert operations under international law. He has completed various internships, including one with the White House under the Vice President Counsel’s Office, and one with the Florida Senate (as a UCF Legislative Scholar). John is half-Italian and half-Armenian, so the dinner table is loud and the food is phenomenal. He loves movies, books and lifting weights.
Brian Walsh
Law School: George Washington University School of Law
Hometown: Plymouth, Michigan
Brian Walsh just completed his 2L year at the George Washington University School of Law. He interned for the Committee for Justice and assisted in the confirmation process of Justice Barrett. In addition, Brian worked as a research assistant for Professor Charles Tyler analyzing structural interpretation in constitutional law. During his 1L summer, he worked as a research assistant for Professor Jeremi Duru editing a sports law treatise. Brian worked for a large law firm for three years before law school. He is a proud member of the Federalist Society and will serve as vice president of speakers for the coming school year.
David Wilde
Law School: William and Mary Law School
Hometown: Williamsburg, Virginia
Before beginning his studies, David Wilde served a two-year service mission for his church in Mexico City, Mexico. As an undergraduate student, he interned in the office of Senator Mike Lee, where he worked with the senator’s financial policy team. After graduating in 2018, David worked at the American Enterprise Institute as a research assistant in the domestic policy division until he began law school in August 2020. For his 1L summer, he is working as a law clerk for Senator Ted Cruz’s judiciary committee staff. He is married and has two kids, Talmage (three) and Penelope (one).
Robert Williams
Law School: University of Alabama School of Law
Hometown: Savannah, Georgia
Robert Williams just completed his 1L year at the University of Alabama Law. He graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2018 with a degree in business and economics. During his time at Georgia Southern, Robert traveled to Prague for a summer to study transitional economics. After graduation, he sold cars for a year until deciding to attend law school.
Aaron Yuratovich
Law School: American University Washington College of Law
Hometown: Olathe, Kansas
Growing up, Aaron Yuratovich was an avid bowler and attended Webber International University on a bowling scholarship. During his time at Webber, Aaron earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration prelaw and won three national championships in bowling. Before law school, he helped launch a 3D printing and scanning start-up in Kansas City, Missouri. He then began law school at American University Washington College of Law, where he just finished his 2L year. He has interned with Republican staff of the House Oversight Committee and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Aaron is on the senior staff of the Administrative Law Review and is finalizing his comment regarding Federal Communications Commissions merger review for publication. He is also the incoming president for Washington College of Law’s Federalist Society chapter. He is particularly interested in antitrust, corporate finance and banking law. Aaron enjoys meeting new people, going to the beach, traveling and trying new foods.